'CFO to go' suits accountant on the go

By DEANA DRIVER
The Bottom Line
Mid-September 2007

Some accountants enjoy the everyday world of creating financial statements and preparing tax returns. Not Steven Walker of Business Works Chartered Accountants in Calgary. He has always yearned for something more.

Shortly after becoming a CA in 1990, Walker knew that he wanted to take more of a hands-on approach with clients than simply doing their tax returns once a year.

“The traditional service of preparing a tax return doesn’t help a business go forward,” says Walker. In 2003, he came up with the idea of a “CFO to go” and began working part-time alongside owners of small- to medium-sized businesses to help them improve their profitability.

Since then, Walker has worked as a temporary CFO to all variety of businesses, from wholesale to construction, manufacturing to trades.

“These are businesses that would have four or five employees and revenues of $2 million up to $10 million,” he says. “The owners have to meet the attributes of being open to this, admitting they don’t know everything, and being ready for a change.”

Walker uses a combination of free workshops, direct mailings, website materials and word-of-mouth to attract clients who want to improve their business’ bottom lines but aren’t quite sure how to do it. As a “profit advisor,” he uses his individualized Profit Improvement Program to teach business owners about the relationship between revenues, cash flow and profit.

“The key is to access your hidden profits – financial strategies ignored or opportunities overlooked as you take care of the day-to-day running of your business,” says Walker’s website (www.profitimprovement-advisors.com). “Your profit advisor will help you: understand the factors that affect profitability; learn how to apply these factors to your business; strengthen your cash flow; ensure your business is properly financed; improve the effectiveness of your business.”

Walker brings his accounting expertise and his keen interest in business management to the table, working for a flat fee that is negotiated with the business at the beginning of the contract.

“My agreements with them are for a scope of work and a scope of service that generally takes a year. Once that year is done, clients are pleased and the contract rolls over for another term,” he says. “Some of the feedback I’ve had from clients is, ‘I can’t believe you’re an accountant.’ I had a client tell me I saved his business.

“I’m not doing anything that’s outside the scope of the accountant,” adds Walker. “I’m not the brightest accountant . . . I understand service. I enjoy trying to help people, and that goes a long way.”

As the part time CFO, Walker often connects his clients to other professionals such as information management specialists who can also assist in improving the business’ financial picture. He also utilizes the skills of other accountants through personal connections and the international consultant network of Principa Alliance.

“You can never know everything,” says Walker. “My skill is in communicating and interpreting as opposed to the doing. My biggest strength is in knowing what my weaknesses are.”

Splitting his time now between public accounting and his ‘CFO to go work,’Walker hopes to leave the public accounting side behind within the next two years, focusing

all his energies on helping business clients improve their profit margins. He is also working on putting his profit improvement program into a saleable resource package

and says he may coach other accountants in the future who are keenly interested in doing the same type of business improvement work.

“What I’m doing now is a lot of fun. For young people coming into the profession, it’s a huge opportunity. There’s a lot of flexibility. I have a lot of fun doing what I want to do.”

His clients seem to like it, too.

Click here to contact Steven Walker to discusss CFO To Go Services for your business.